


A ticking clock

by BlaCkreed4



Series: Ospiti dallo Spazio [12]
Category: Marvel (Comics), Marvel 616, X-Men (Comicverse)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Captivity, Domestic Violence, Happy Ending, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, M/M, Physical Abuse, Soulmate-Identifying Timers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-18
Updated: 2020-09-18
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:55:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,081
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26532484
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlaCkreed4/pseuds/BlaCkreed4
Summary: Humanity has to flee Earth. That day Logan's countdown is supposed to go to zero.
Relationships: Logan/Kurt Wagner, Victor Creed/Logan
Series: Ospiti dallo Spazio [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1722352
Kudos: 10





	A ticking clock

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is way longer than expected!
> 
> Written for:  
> \- Lande di Fandom's "Esploratori del Polyverso", prompts: destiny, exodus, numbers;  
> \- Kaos Borealis's "Ospiti dallo Spazio", prompt: stalker.

Since the dawn of time humans have always loved tinkering with what was around them. They had started with stones and branches, raising animals and growing plants to eat. With time it had just become more and more complex, to the point where common folks had absolutely no idea of the process behind the production of most of the things they used or consumed. And because of that the people who needed natural resources for their productions had started to abuse the defenseless planet. After all, who would stop them? Certainly not the people who bought their stuff.

But the Earth wasn’t defenseless, it had never been, it just needed some time to start to fight back. At first there had been just some anomalies in the climate, some more storms and tornadoes than usual. Then came the volcanic eruptions and earthquakes and tsunamis.

It had been quick enough to make people freak out about the apocalypse, but slow enough to let them organize a global evacuation. Governments and privates funded the research and constructions of spaceships, and in just a few years humankind was ready to leave Earth for a new home, a potentially liveable planet just a few light years away.

As soon as everything was ready, the evacuation began: all around the world loudspeakers instructed people about where to go, not to panic and to follow the instructions they were given upon arrival on site. Endless queues formed in front of the guarded entrances, where soldiers sorted everyone into the different spaceships and checked that no one cut in line.

It took less than expected to get everyone in: it was finally time to board the soldiers and leave.

In the last few days Logan had been nervous. His countdown was finally about to go to zero, but he could have never imagined that he would have met his soulmate on a spaceship. He was filled with anxiety and excitement about it, he had waited for so long to meet… Her? Him? He didn’t even know, being bisexual surely didn’t help him imagine his life partner.

He had been tasked on patrolling the perimeter, making sure that no one skipped the registration line, so he hadn’t been able to scan the people walking in the many spaceships. He hoped the other person wouldn’t be too disappointed in seeing a short hairy man as their soulmate.

He nervously checked his countdown again: it counted less than an hour. He felt his heart race at the sight of only 52 minutes and 29 seconds remaining until he would meet his soulmate.

That was when he heard the order to board from his radio. His heart skipped a beat as he promptly power-walked towards the ships. He barely greeted his fellow soldiers when he passed them, his eyes focused on the further ship. He knew he had to go there, he felt it in his heart that that was the right direction. It would have taken him a while to reach it, but he didn’t care; he had waited for all those years, he was more than willing to walk for some kilometres in order to finally reach his soulmate.

He checked his countdown again: 25 minutes and 13 seconds. It was so close, he could feel his instinct tug him harder in the right direction. He probably would meet his soulmate in the ship’s entrance judging from the distance that still divided him from his destination.

He kept on checking it more and more often as the numbers relentlessly got lower and lower. He felt like they were getting hotter, but he was sure it was just his feelings messing up with his sensations.

The first ships started to close their ramps as their assigned soldiers had walked inside. He sped up, fearing that his destined ship would leave without him even if it was impossible that the countdown hadn’t considered that.

Nine minutes and 43 seconds.

Four minutes and 25 seconds.

Two minutes and fourteen seconds.

He was at the ramp just as his counter’s minutes reached zero and he was left with only seconds. He felt a warm sensation spread throughout him as his heart beat furiously in his chest and his stomach clenched when he set foot on the metal stairs.

He heard a faint popping sound behind him, then a hand grab his wrist.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

Logan felt a cold shiver run down his spine. No no no no no, it wasn’t supposed to go like that, that was wrong.

“Lemme go!” He growled, pulling to get free.

Victor tightened his grip, hurting him and pulling him towards him.

“I don’t think so.” He forced Logan to turn around, looking at him in the eyes with a smirk that made the other shiver. “You belong to me, remember it.”

Before the shorter man could reply, Creed pressed a button on his teleporting device and brought the two of them onto one of the already closed ships.

“No!” Logan screamed, a freezing sensation overwhelming him and cutting his breath as he fell on his knees and trembled.

Kurt had never been so nervous in his entire life, and it was a hard goal to reach since he looked like a blue demon. But how could he not be since he was mere minutes away from meeting his soulmate?

He had spent the last few days in a queue that seemed to never end and then, after he finally made it to the ship, he had wandered in it awaiting for his countdown to tell him who was the right person for him. Would it be a beautiful woman or a handsome man? He didn’t know, but he hoped that they wouldn’t freak out when they saw him, he didn’t want their relationship to start awkwardly.

That morning he had woken up in his cabin with a strong feeling of having to go to the entrance. He obviously followed it, getting to it as soon as he had showered and wore his favourite clothes; he hoped to make a good impression on his soulmate, especially considering his unusual appearance.

His excitement grew with every passing minute, making him restless. He paced around the entrance again and again, looking around at anyone passing by and wondering where his future lover would come from; would they come from outside or from another corridor of the ship? He didn’t know, but he had to wait for just a few more minutes to find out.

He checked his countdown more and more often as the numbers got lower and lower, to the point where he spent the remaining two minutes staring at it.

When the countdown reached 24 seconds he felt the urge to walk to the middle of the entrance. Obviously he did, his heart pounding in his chest, his whole body warming up as his eyes focused on the ramp.

And then, just a few seconds later, he felt a freezing sensation so strong that it took his breath away and forced him on his knees, shivering uncontrollably.

There was something wrong, something terribly wrong.

With terror filling his heart he raised his trembling arm to look at the countdown; he sobbed and his eyes filled with tears.

Five years, three months, twenty days, six hours, seventeen minutes and 42 seconds.

When Logan stopped shivering and managed to breathe again he looked with dread at his countdown. He screamed in rage as he got up and tried to punch Victor, who easily blocked his hand into his.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?! HOW DARED YOU, I WAS SO CLOSE!" The shorter man shouted, his eyes wetting in frustration and pain and rage.

"You're mine, Logan, mine!" Victor growled, shoving his arm in front of the other's face to make him see the tattoo that had appeared when they first met and replaced his countdown; it said 'Logan Howlett'.

"I AIN'T!" The other replied, doing the same to show his new countdown. "I ain't," he weakly repeated.

Victor growled in anger, grabbing Logan by his shirt's collar and lifting him up.

"You are, an' I'll do whatever it takes to keep you for myself," he threatened.

Logan gulped and shivered; they'd worked together for so many years, he knew exactly what he was capable of and that his threats were never empty.

"I ain't, an' I'll never will. You can't force me!" he stubbornly replied.

"Watch me."

Victor dragged him towards the military headquarters, where he headed to the tech section. He shoved the teleporting device in the hands of the closest lab coat-wearing person.

"It works. Lock it up," he ordered.

Logan tried to make him let go at first, but it was useless and he was forced to follow him in order not to fall down. He had to think of a way to get rid of Victor and reach the other spaceship, he knew he could do it. And once he was there he would find his soulmate without having to wait for more than five years. He was sure he could fix his countdown the same way Creed had broken it. When he saw the other give a device to a scientist he felt his stomach clench.

"What's that?"

"Nothing you could use," Victor growled. "I ain't gonna let you get away from me."

Logan protested and insulted him as he was forced to walk towards the ship's living quarters. He wasn't surprised to see both of their names on a door, that bastard was the army's best killer, they would give him  _ anything _ . He had never been able to get away from him because of that, no request of changing mansion nor resigning nor begging had ever been accepted.

_ "You're his soulmate, it's normal that he wants you close,"  _ They had told him, no matter how hard he protested that he wasn't his and he didn't want anything to do with him.  _ "Just be nice and make him happy until you find yours." _

He was yanked out of his memories by Victor pushing him inside their cabin; he almost fell on the ground before turning around and threateningly growling at the other.

“I’ve got things to do, don’t do anything stupid,” Creed ordered him before locking him inside.

Logan promptly reached the door and hammered it with his fists.

“Lemme out, you piece of shit!” He shouted.

“I’ll report for you too,” Victor replied.

Howlett roared in fury, punching and kicking the door until his knuckles hurt and he was panting.

He dragged his feet as he walked to the king-sized bed, where he heavily sat down. He rested his elbows on his knees and hid his face in his hands, anger leaving space to dread.

It hadn’t always been like that. Sure, the first time he and Victor met had been awkward as fuck, what with the unrequited soulmate thing. He had even felt bad for him. Victor had laughed it off as ‘his usual bad luck’, but Logan could see in his eyes his hurt and anger.

It was their first day at the training camp, and since none of them knew anyone they had stuck together. They had lunch together, they trained side by side - or better, Logan tried to keep up with Victor who had the advantage of his size - and at the end of the day they found out that they had a bed in the same barrack.

They had grown closer, Victor obviously wanted to spend time with his soulmate and Logan didn’t have the heart to reject him; besides he quite liked him too. Sometimes he wondered if his timer was wrong.

One day when they were on liberty, they had gone drinking together; nothing unusual since they always did it. They often hooked up with both men and women, but that night Victor didn’t seem in the mood for it. After some pressure and a few jokes, Logan managed to make him confess that he wanted to fuck  _ him _ , not a random stranger. He was flattered of course, and he was tipsy and Victor had always been very handsome; he would have lied if he said he wasn’t attracted to him. So he had accepted.

It hadn’t been exactly romantic, they did it in the bar’s bathroom with most of their clothes still on. Victor had been rough and forceful, kissing him passionately and leaving bitemarks anywhere he could reach. Logan had to beg him to be a bit more gentle at some point because he was hurting him a bit too much for his taste. It had been great though, he never had a better lover so far.

Their relationship changed a lot since that time; what had started as a friendship became an actual relationship. They spent all of their free time together, taking advantage of every occasion to fuck. One time they got caught while on duty and were forced to clean the toilet's floor with a toothbrush as punishment; they never did it again, but they often laughed about it afterwards.

They were bummed when they found out that they were going to be dispatched to different squads. They spent the last night together fucking, and when they got too tired they laid one on top of the other.

Logan still remembered that night perfectly. He still remembered Creed’s angry look when his eyes fell on his still going countdown.

_ “You know, I think it’s broken. I’ve met you already.” _ he had reassured him. What an idiot he had been. But Victor had fucked him so fucking well afterwards, it had been the best orgasm of his life.

_ “I’ll get back to you, one way or another.” _ Creed had promised the next morning, before leaving.

Logan had made a joke about cheesiness and they had both laughed. He was pretty sure Victor would keep his promise, so he just hoped it wouldn’t take too long.

The next months had been quiet - for as much as military life could be - and Logan still missed Victor like hell. He wondered if his countdown was marking the next time they would meet. One day he heard some gossip in the mess hall; apparently a new recruit was so good in battle that he was about to be moved to special forces after just a few months. Logan listened closely, curious about this incredible person, and he beamed when he heard his name: Victor Creed. He was so happy and proud of him, he had no doubts he would have been the best in what he did, he had always been the best in training after all.

He kept his ears open after that day, eager to know more about his then lover. He learned that he had been moved to the special forces’ training camp and that he impressed the trainers so much that he was dispatched to a squad way earlier than usual. After that all rumors went silent, and he feared that something bad had happened to him. Looking back, it would have been for the best.

He had been shocked when he learned that he was being moved to special forces too, after a specific request made by Victor himself. He had immediately accepted.

Training had been a lot harder than the standard one, but he went through it without too much trouble and he was greeted by a steaming hot kiss when he finally joined Victor’s squad.

It was then that things changed: Logan didn’t know why or what had happened, but Creed had suddenly become possessive and jealous. It was flattering at first, but when it got annoying and he complained about it Victor glared at him and grabbed his arm to make him face his countdown.  _ “Shouldn’t I be?” _ he had snarled in his face. Logan had snorted and said something he didn’t remember anymore, but Victor didn’t take it well; that was the first time he had raped him.

Things escalated after that, but Creed had become such a precious asset for the special forces by that time Logan had been forced to do whatever he wanted, under threat of going to court martial if he didn’t.

He thought that after all those years of abuse, waiting for the right moment to finally get away from him, he had found one. He thought that when his countdown would have reached zero he would have been free. He had never been more wrong.

He perked his head up to the door when he heard it open. He glared at Victor, who had a tray with their dinner in his hands.

Creed put it on a table beside the door, dragging a chair back to sit on it.

They stared at each other for a while, then Victor gestured at the chair in front of him.

“Well?” He asked.

“I ain’t hungry.” Logan growled.

Creed shrugged and turned towards the table to eat.

“Suit yourself. You won’t reach the zero if you don’t eat.”

Howlett felt his cheeks burn in rage. That asshole was right, and he fucking hated that he knew him so well.

He stomped to the table and sat heavily on the free chair, eating angrily. He noticed Victor’s smirk, and he felt even more furious for it.

“You can’t lock me up forever,” he growled.

“You gotta earn it, you just tried to run away from me.”

Logan hit the table with his fist, making the glasses tinkle.

“I was going to my  _ real _ soulmate!” he shouted.

“ _ I _ am your real soulmate!” Victor replied in the same tone.

“No, you fuckin’ ain’t! My countdown’s always been right, you ain’t my fuckin’ soulmate an’ you’ll  _ never _ be!”

Creed promptly stood up and grabbed him by the neck, lifting him off the ground.

“You’re mine! You’ve always been an’ always will!”

Logan glared at him, his face getting redder for the lack of air. He hit and scratched Victor’s arms, his legs kicking uselessly.

“Leggo,” he exhaled.

“Earn it. Stop fighting.”

Howlett didn’t have much of a choice, as usual. He forced himself to stop moving, but he kept on glaring at Victor.

The latter put him down and let go of his neck, making him gasp for air as soon as he was free.

“See? It ain’t that hard to earn something. Now finish your dinner,” Creed said.

“Fuck you! At this point I’d rather starve!” Logan retorted.

He marched to the bathroom and slammed the door shut, resting his back against it.

He looked at himself in the mirror and grimaced in disgust. He was still as red as a tomato, his eyes wet with tears, his lips pale. He knew they were normal reactions to being fucking strangled, but he couldn’t help but feel ashamed for his own weakness. He lightly touched the bruises that were starting to form around his neck like a collar, a physical sign of the metaphorical one he had been wearing in the last few years.

He couldn’t get away from that bastard as long as they were on the same ship, he knew that. He had to be smarter than him, he had to find a way to get off that ship and onto another one, he didn’t even care about which one as long as they were as far away as possible.

He washed his face with cold water, hoping it would make him look a bit more normal, then he got out.

Victor had finished eating and had gathered the plates, but he stopped to look at Logan when he came out, following his every move.

The other ignored his gaze, grabbing a pillow and a blanket from the bed to place them on the floor.

Victor snorted, but he said nothing as he got out with the tray.

Logan took advantage of his absence to get out of his working clothes and wrap himself in the blanket, stubbornly looking away from the door.

He didn’t have to wait much before Creed came back. Logan heard him walk in, he heard the ruffle of him getting naked, and he heard the faint creak of the bed as he laid.

None of them said a word the whole time, then Victor turned off the lights.

Howlett waited until he heard the other’s breathe slow down, then he waited some more. As quietly as he could, he got up, got dressed, and walked to the door. He had to bite his lips in order not to curse for the lack of whatever thing could make it open. It had to be hidden somewhere. He checked with his hands everywhere he could reach for a button, a panel, whatever, but he found nothing.

“Get back to sleep, you’re so noisy,” Victor complained after a few minutes.

Logan growled in frustration.

“I’ll get out of here,” he promised.

“You gotta earn it.”

The captive went back to his blanket, but he was too frustrated to sleep.

Logan learned quickly that Victor was dead serious when he talked about earning it. Behaving for a whole day didn’t work, and obviously when he tried to ambush him on the door he was punished; he wasn’t able to sit down for almost three days afterwards, but his ass didn’t burn as much as the shame of being treated like a child.

He tried to escape, he tried to fight, and he tried to reason with Victor, but nothing worked.

He had to outsmart him, he had to plan something thoroughly. Luckily for him he had a lot of time on his hands.

He had to pretend to give up, he resolved, but not suddenly. That asshole was too smart to believe such a blatant lie.

He started by putting his pillow and blanket back on their bed. He wasn’t surprised when Victor spooned him, but he still told him to fuck off and don’t touch him; he wouldn’t be believable if he was suddenly fine with being touched by him again. He woke up between Creed’s arms, though.

After that he stopped talking about going out and he waited for Victor to bring in the food right at the table. Creed didn’t inquire, but he updated him about what was going on in the ship. Logan pretended not to care too much, but when the other didn’t tell him he always asked.

He gradually let Victor touch him again, usually when they were in bed since they were in the same space. At first he simply didn’t retract if Victor casually touched him, but as Creed himself became more daring Logan became more permissive. It was hard, but he managed to force himself to put up with it.

He learned to hide his anger, pretending to be more sad and unhopeful than still stubborn and furious. By that time he had already spent a few weeks locked in that cabin mostly alone, so it wasn’t too hard.

The last thing he did was to tear a piece of elastic fabric from a sport’s shirt and make a cover for his countdown. That evening he noticed a subtle smirk on Victor’s face when he noticed, but he didn’t ask.

That same evening, when they were in bed, Creed went straight for a kiss and Logan let him. He didn’t kiss him back with enthusiasm, but he did kiss him back. Victor clearly took it as a sign for more, and Logan silenced his raging heart and let him fuck him.

It was strange, because Victor was actually gentle with him for the first time ever, taking his time to prepare him and make sure he was liking it too instead of just satisfying himself. Logan knew it was just because he was careful not to take a false step with him, it was to make sure he didn’t anger him and draw him off again, but he couldn’t deny it actually felt good to be treated like a lover. He liked the soft kisses and fingers intertwined instead of the usual bitemarks and pinning down, and it hurt even more knowing that Victor  _ was  _ capable of it.

He was staring at the ceiling lost in his post-orgasm thoughts when he felt Creed turn on his side to watch him and caress the make-do sleeve he had left on during sex.

"Why?" He simply asked, probably out of curiosity if Logan got his tone right.

"Don't wanna see it anymore. It's useless."

Victor hugged him and spooned him, rubbing his nose on his air and sighing happily.

"Told you it was wrong."

Logan snorted.

"It's not like I got a choice."

"Exactly. You're mine."

"Yeah." Howlett sighed.

Afterwards, Victor started to trust him a bit more.

At first he allowed him to accompany him to the mess hall to retrieve their food, letting him choose what he wanted to eat. Then they started to eat there.

Logan had to fight his urge to run away every damn time, but he knew he couldn’t risk going back to being completely locked up. He had to behave as he planned, he had to make Creed trust him again.

Victor gradually allowed him to have more freedom. At first he gave him warnings about watching him, but after a while he stopped.

It took a few months of captivity for Logan to be allowed to get back to his job. He knew he had to be extra careful about it, Victor had so much power through his reputation that anyone would willingly snitch on him. For that reason he never missed their meals, nor he was ever late for them. He never asked questions not pertaining to his job. He always came back to their cabin as soon as he was done for the day. He never refused to have sex with him, not even after he started to hurt him again during it. He didn’t even cover his marks too well.

After more than a year he was free to go and do whatever he wanted as long as he warned Victor first and came back to their cabin to sleep. He spent most of his free time at the gym, blowing off the steam he had to repress every second of every day and training to get faster and stronger; he would need every kind of advantage once they all landed on the new planet in order to finally escape that asshole and find his real soulmate.

One day, after his usual gym training, Logan came back to their cabin and found Victor already there, sitting on the bed with something in his lap.

“What’s that?” He asked while going to the bathroom.

“A present. For you.”

Logan was surprised by the seriousness of his tone.

“How romantic.” He joked.

Victor snorted.

“I made someone make you a tailored sleeve in place of that one.” He explained.

“Thanks, it’ll surely be more comfortable.”

He closed the door and took a shower, checking on his countdown while washing himself. That was the only time he felt safe enough to do it without being caught.

Three years, ten months, 25 days, seven hours and 53 seconds. He still had a lot to wait and to bear.

When he walked out of the bathroom he found Victor still sitting on the bed. He walked up to him and sat beside him.

“Let’s see.”

Creed handed him the sleeve; it was of his exact skin colour and it even had hairs drawn on.

“Classy.” Logan joked.

When he turned it around he froze. It had a name tattoo where his countdown should be: Victor Creed.

“Better late than never, right?” Victor joked after a few moments of silence.

Logan blinked out of his shock.

“Yeah… right.”

He forced himself to stay calm as he wore it. It fitted perfectly and it felt almost like he wasn’t wearing it, still it completely covered his countdown and the difference between its edges and real skin was barely visible. He himself had a hard time remembering it wasn’t really his skin.

Victor leaned on him and kissed him.

Logan kissed him back on conditioned reflex. He wanted to tear that thing apart, turn it into the smallest pieces ever and then burn them, but he knew he couldn’t. He had to always keep it on and act like it was his most precious possession. His plan to resist until they left the ship had just become harder.

After that day Victor gradually stopped actively controlling Logan; the latter made sure he never had a reason to doubt his loyalty, so by the time they were in sight of their destination he could basically do whatever he wanted and go wherever he wanted as long as he came back to him.

When it was announced that they were in sight of their destination planet, though, Creed became possessive and paranoid again. Logan did his best to reassure him, but not even initiating sex was enough. He never locked him up again, but he did start following him around whenever he could.

“How much time?” he asked out of the blue one time, after sex.

“Dunno, don’t care.”

Logan looked at his face and could see the worry in his eyes.

“Why?”

“Check it.”

Howlett grimaced. He was prepared for that order, it was obvious that his behaviour had changed because of that, five years had finally passed. He sighed in resignation at Victor’s serious face, lowering the sleeve to uncover his countdown and show it to him.

One day, twelve hours, 49 minutes and 52 seconds.

“Happy now?” he asked in annoyance, fixing his sleeve and caressing its tattoo as if he clearly preferred it, just to make a scene.

“We’ll land tomorrow,” Creed replied.

“Yeah, so?”

“You’ll meet your soulmate.”

Logan could hear the barely held back anger at that sentence. He couldn’t help but smirk.

“You jealous?” he joked.

He huffed and rolled his eyes when Victor glared at him.

“I’m gonna tell them I’ve already found my soulmate,” He lied. He was prepared for it, he had planned it a long time ago.

He tapped the name on his fake skin, drawing attention to it.

“Everyone can see I already did.” He turned to face Victor again. “I’m all yours.”

He could see he was still uncertain, so he kissed him passionately.

“C’mon, after all these years you still don’t trust me? It hurts, you know?”

That seemed to do it for Victor; he pinned him down and fucked him again, holding his hands the whole time.

When they got ready for their job the next day, Logan could see that Victor was still on edge. He reassured him again and again, going to check on him every time he could, even kissing him in front of everyone.

Creed had made sure that they were side by side when the ship finally landed.

The builders and engineers sent a few months earlier on that journey had done a great job in preparing the landing site so that everyone could be checked and sorted; some people would be housed immediately, while others would have to wait in their cabins until there were enough buildings.

Logan was impressed by the sight of all that already set.

“Wow. Have you already chosen our place?” he asked.

“Not yet, no one has. Preferences?”

Howlett was surprised by that question, he had never let him choose anything that important before. He thought about it for a second.

“No nosy neighbours.”

They both chuckled at that.

Logan’s transmitter called him to duty on patrol.

“Copy,” he answered. He turned to Victor and smirked. “Well, see you later.”

He was about to leave when Creed grabbed his shoulder and made him turn around to kiss him.

Howlett promptly kissed him back, chuckling when they pulled back.

“You’re so cute when you’re jealous,” he mocked him.

Victor huffed, but he half-smirked.

“Shut up an’ go before you get a reprimand.”

“Yessir.”

Logan jokingly saluted him, then he finally was allowed to leave to patrol the spaceships’ perimetre to make sure that no one would go in the wrong direction.

As soon as he was far enough and out of sight he sighed in relief and lowered the sleeve to check on his countdown.

16 minutes and eight seconds.

He could do a lot in that time.

First of all he ran as far away as possible from anyone and anything, hiding behind a rocky protrusion in that desert landscape. He threw the sleeve on the ground, stomping it as he assembled the silencer on his gun, then he unloaded every single bullet on the fake tattoo. He felt immediately better when it was barely recognizable. He abandoned his gun, badge and transmitter there, not breaking them just because he didn’t want any alarm to set off, then he checked his countdown again.

Seven minutes and 46 seconds.

More than enough time, he thought.

He ran back to the ships, where he sneaked in the crowd of people being directed to the arrival check without much of a problem. Thankfully his uniform was just a plain black t-shirt and black cargo pants, it wasn’t that uncommon to see civilians in similar outfits, so he blended easily.

By that time his countdown was left with only seconds again. He started to look around nervously, then the same urge he had felt five years prior guided him in the right direction.

Kurt had spent most of his time on his assigned ship with depression. He had hidden it as best as he could, but he would be lying if he ever said he didn’t cry about his missing soulmate.

Obviously no one had ever heard of anything like that happening, and all of his friends consoled him and supported him, but it was still very odd.

He had started to hope again when his countdown had passed the one year bar; he felt better by the day and when the landing date was announced his heart skipped a bit because it was exactly the day he would finally meet his soulmate.

That was why he was on the lookout for anyone he didn’t know amidst the crowd.

He obsessively checked on it in fear that it wouldn’t reach zero again, but when he felt his instinct tugging him in a specific direction he promptly followed it.

When he was left with only seconds for the second time he felt a warm sensation fill him again and his hope grew with his fear of losing it like the last time, but deep down he felt that that was the right time.

Logan was the first to notice Kurt for the simple reason that the latter was walking in the opposite direction in relation to everyone else. He noticed that he was on the edge, nervously looking around, and he knew he was the one because he felt the same.

As soon as their eyes locked into each other they felt an electric shock run down their spines. They instinctively raised their arms to show off their countdown and they smiled at seeing the exact same number on the other’s.

They made their way through the sea of people, reaching out with their hands to intertwine their fingers as soon as they were close enough.

They shivered as their countdown reached zero and it turned into each other’s name.

“Hi,” Logan awkwardly greeted him.

He was feeling all warm and happy, he couldn’t help but grin.

“Hi,” Kurt replied in the same manner.

“Finally, I found you.”

Howlett pulled him closer, caressing his cheek with his free hand.

“I hope you’re not too disappointed,” he joked.

The other chuckled.

“How could I? I waited for five extra years for you.”

Logan saddened immediately.

"I'm so sorry…"

Kurt didn't let him finish, hugging him tight. Logan promptly hugged him back, both of them feeling relieved and happy to be together at last.

They broke their hug when they were nudged forward by the crowd, so they simply held hands while walking in the right direction.

Logan checked his tattoo, and Kurt did the same.

“Kurt Wagner. German?” he asked. It sounded so good on his tongue.

“Ja. And you should be American, Herr Logan Howlett.” Kurt replied.

“Canadian. Not that it matters anymore.”

They chuckled, smiling at each other.

They had the rest of their lives to spend together, and they couldn’t wait for it.


End file.
